The Leaves Buried in Sand
by Andreille LeFlore
Summary: Team 7 has just received a dangerous mission to Sunagakure, but they are in the middle of training. Well, it seems that the training has to be put on hold, as threats from Suna spread to Konoha.


"Okay, so that's not right... I'll try this one!"  
"Hurry up, Dobe, Sakura and I are already finished."  
"Shut up, Sasuke! Gimme a minute, Sheesh!"  
Naruto, a ninja from Konoha, was trying to tie a knot, part of an exercise given to his team, Team 7, by their sensei, Hitake Kakashi.

"Seriously, Kakashi sensei, what's the point of this exercise? I mean, when are we ever going to need to tie... a KNOT???" Naruto was strugglng with a vicious length of rope that would come undone with the slightest tug.

"Don't be so hasty, Naruto, any emergency can arise which could use this important lesson."  
"Like what?"  
"Like this. Think. You of all people use irrational jutsus which take up more chakra than they need,"  
"HEY! My 'irrational' jutsus come in handy!"  
"but they also leave you vulnerable."  
"Huh?"  
"Pay attention, Naruto!" A young pink-haired girl only a little taller than Naruto spoke up.

"Sorry, Sakura," he rubbed the back of his head, a small smile playing across his face. "What were you saying, Kakashi sensei?"  
"I was saying that your jutsus are usually energy consuming, leaving you vulnerable. Your Kage bunshin no jutsu is one for example which uses a lot of chakra, almost all of it, as a matter of fact. This is why, in the event you have no chakra to work wiith, a _rope_ can be used in exchange for an escape jutsu. Clear?"  
"Yeah, clear." Naruto wasn't truly paying attention, but fiddling with the knot. It came untied yet again.

"Darn it!"  
"Need some help, Dobe?"  
"Not from you, Teme! I'll get it myself, dattebayo! But... I wouldn't mind if _you_ helped me, Sakura!"

The day was coming to an end, and Team 7 was headed for the village, a dissapointed Naruto nursing a swollen cheek where Sakura had slapped him. Fewer poeple were racing about, and things had quieted down. Naruto said his goodbyes to the rest of the team, and entered the house, slouching in disgust.

"Man! Sasuke, that show off! He made me look bad yet again!" Naruto slammed his fist on a near-by table before pulling open a cabinet and extracting a cup of Instant Ramen.  
"Tomorrow, I'll show him! Another survival excercise!" Naruto sniffed the ramen, the boiling contents becoming more and more fragrant.  
"I'll prove I'm stronger than Sasuke, and Sakura will _have_ to like me!" Grabbing his chopsticks, he took a bite of his ramen, slurping up the long noodles.  
"There's no way I can lose to him! I'll defeat him, and everyone else, and I'll become Hokage, dattebayo!"

A new day had dawned, and a sleepy-eyed Naruto popped up in bed, his night cap falling over his face. He let out a loud yawn before dragging himself from his bed, and entering the kitchen. With a mumble, he grabbed a cup of Instant Ramen from the cabinet, and immediately began boiling water.

"Another day...:" he mumbled, he was so lost in thought he barely noticed the whistling tea pot on the stove. He pulled it off carefully pouring the water into the cup. Naruto hunched over the cup, staring at it with all his might, so hard that it might explode. He yawned once more before pulling back the lid, and yelling at he top of his voice:

"Today's the day I prove to Sasuke that I am the greatest Ninja Konoha's ever seen!" Naruto immediately began to dig in, slurping up the long noodles in only a few bites. He raced to his room to change and grabbed his headband before heading out the door.

The entire way there he kept telling himself how he would show Sasuke up, and become the greatest ninja, but when he finally arrived, he and Sasuke made eye contact, and that feeling of power dissappeared, leaving behind a heavy feeling in his stomach, almost as if Naruto had swallowed a rock.

"Good morning, dobe."  
"Same to you, teme."  
"Grr, why can't you two just grow up!" Sakura steamed, her face turning red. She let out a long sigh, and settled back down.

_"CHA! That Naruto is gonna ruin it for me! If this keeps up, Sasuke will never notice me! I've got to grab Sasuke's attention!"_ Inner Sakura raged, but the outter Sakura merely sighed, and sat quietly on the ground.  
"When do you think Kakashi sensei is going to get here, Sasuke?"  
"Who knows. Knowing him, it'll be lunch time before he arrives."

"Time passed, and birds flew by, but no Kakashi sensei was to be seen. Naruto looked at his frog watch. It read 11:58. Sasuke was right. It was then that a silver-haired ninja appeared in front of them, casual as always.

"Good morning, everyone!"  
"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed together. Sasuke merely glared. Kakashi smiled before walking up to them, unzipping his vest.

"Well, I'm glad you're all prepared, because I have a new training excercise for you." He reached into his vest and pulled out a small ball of fur. It perked up it's ears before turning to examine the team. It looked from Naruto to Sakura, from Sakura to Sasuke, and back again. It blinked and purred, and settled it's unkempt fur.  
"Mew."  
"A CAT?!? I HATE CATS!!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the tiny purring kitten.  
"Aww, what a cute little kitty!" Sakura crooned petting it on the head with two fingers. It mewed a few more times before continuing to purr. Sasuke approached it with caution.

"But, why a cat?"  
"Yeah! Why's a cat our mission?" Naruto chimed in.

"Because this cat is well known for quick getaways. This cat is a ninja cat."  
"You mean like Kiba's dog?"  
"Exactly. She won't be easy to catch. I should know." He held her out at arms length allowing the kitten to escape from his arms and run towards the bushes.  
"Ahh, what'd you do that for???"

"This will give her a chance to hide. Besides, I brought lunch." Kakashi pulled out four bento boxes from his bag and four pairs of chopsticks before taking a seat. He passed one to each of them, and they began to eat. When they were done, they continued the day with warm ups.

"Now. Let's get started. Your mission is to find and capture that kitten. But be warned, that's easier said than done. She's an excellent hider, and even if you manage to find the kitten, she won't be easy to capture. Do you understand?  
"Yeah, I definitely understand!"  
"Good. And one more thing. Don't forget, the point of this or any excercise is teamwork. So. Don't. Forget. Now..." Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto awaited the mark.  
"Begin."

Team 7 split. A frazzzled Naruto watched as Sakura and Sasuke went their seperate ways, leaving him standing there in the middle of the clearing. Kakashi mearly stared.

"Well, are you going to go? I did say 'Begin'." He continued to watch Naruto as he pulled his Icha Icha Paradise book out of his pack, and proceeded to flip pages.

"I'm going, I'm going!" He quickly looked both ways before running towards a nearby tree and climbing up. He had no idea where to start first.  
"Now where is that stupid cat?? HERE, KITTY, KITTY, KITTY!!!" Kakashi dropped his book and covered both ears. There would be no way to find that kitten like that...

"Um, Naruto, might I suggest... a more quiet approach?"  
"Sure, Kakashi sensei. Whatever you say."

_"That, Naruto! He's making it too difficult for everyone else! I'm sure that cat's right underneath his nose..."_ Sasuke was well hidden in the bushes. He watched as a messy mass of brown and grey trotted right in front of Naruto's tree. He never suspected a thing.

"That dobe."

"I just knew Naruto would miss that cat!" Sakura watched the kitten rub against the tree before scampering into the bushes. She snarled at the missed opportunity, and crawled away to search. Meanwhile, an annoyed Sasuke emerged from his hiding spot to stretch.

"Giving up?" Kakashi called after him.  
"Hardly." Sasuke smirked. He walked over to Naruto's tree, and placed his hands on his hips before looking up to address him.

"Hey, dobe. Do you realize what you just did?"  
"What?"  
"You let the cat get away."  
"No, I didn't! It was never here!!!"  
"You would know. It walked right passed here."  
"Huh??? Which way?" Naruto looked in both directions quickly trying to spot the feline, but saw nothing. Sasuke sighed and shook his head. Naruto didn't notice.

"You're such a dunce."  
SHUT UP, TEME!!! I'LL--: AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Before Naruto could finish, he fell head-forward to the ground. He lied there, dazed, and confused, as small stars and birds swirled about him, and three small cats looked on, eventually melding into one.

"Mew."  
"AAHH!!! It's that cat!!!"  
Sasuke watched as the flustered Naruto quickly shot up, and chased after the speeding furball, but Naruto wasn't fast enough. It had dashed under a bush, and hid itself thoroughly.

"Darn it!"  
"Too slow, dobe."  
"Shut up, Teme! If you had helped me, I might have caught it!"  
"'I?' There is no 'I' in team. And Kakashi sensei did mention something about teamwork..." Sasuke scratched behind the ear mockingly as Naruto fumed. His face was red as a beet, and steam almost came out of his ears.

"Grr... Whatever! Just help me look for it!"  
"If you're willing to cooperate, I might."  
"Hmph! Fine! What's the plan?"

Sakura sat quitely, watching the clouds float by. She previously had been listening to Sasuke and Naruto argue and watching Kakashi sensei read his book, but Kakashi had long since moved, and Sasuke and Naruto had become quiet, leaving Sakura all alone. She sighed and pulled her legs close to her body. She jerked as a large bird squaked overhead, then she sighed once more, and settled to staring at a group of small sparrows hop around a pile of fallen seeds. She smiled as they chirped songs happily, but something startled them, and they flew up into the trees leaving the seeds alone. It was the kitten.

_"Now's my chance! If I can catch this kitten maybe Sasuke will be impressed, and he'll finally notice me! CHA!!! IT'S GOT TO WORK!"_  
She smiled as she crawled slowly over towards the kitten, making sure not to startle it.  
"Here, kitty. I won't hurt you! Come to Sakura, Sakura is your friend!" She held out a hand towards the kitten, and without hesitation, it walked towards her, but it quickly stopped and stared, it's ears flipping wildly about.  
"What's wrong kitty? Come on!" The cat quickly turned and ran, and Sakura chased after it, without a moment's notice. But as she emerged from the bushes, she was given a startling surprise... two kittens.  
"AAAHHH! What's going on here?!?" She shifted her gaze from left to right, watching both kittens in surprise. The two looked exactly alike, down to the very last spot and stripe, and Sakura didn't know which one to go after. The kittens stared each other down, their fur standing on end, and hisses being aimed at each other. They circled as their tails swished and they both ran their seperate ways. Sakura winced at the previous scene... and fainted.

Sasuke waited by a nearby tree as one of the kittens ran past. It stopped only briefly to look at Sasuke before rushing off. Sasuke smirked and headed in Sakura's direction only to find her collapsed body.

_"Should've known. I wonder which way he's going to go...?"_

Sasuke turned to leave, but just as he made a step, one of the kittens appeared in front of him hissing and baring it's teeth. Sasuke mearly smiled, before taking a step back. He reached for a kunai just as Sakura came to.

"Sasuke? Huh? What's going on? The kitten? Oh, Sasuke, you got her! Good work! I knew you could do it!" Sakura motioned to stand, but stopped in her tracks when she saw what happened next. The kitten leaped, making every effort to attack Sasuke, but just he reached him, Sasuke jumped up into a tree above, leaving an angered kitten in his wake.

_POOF_

A cloud of smoke appeared and dissappeared, revealing a hot and bothered Naruto standing before Sakura. She fell back down on the ground in surprise, and Naruto approached her in wonder.

"Uh, Sakura? Sakura?" He shook her but she wouldn't budge. "Sakura? Are you okay?" He sighed and left, but not before kicking a small pebble lying in front of him.

"Darn it! That stupid cat looked just like Sasuke! If I hadn't of run into Sasuke earlier, I would never have known! I just gotta find a way to capture that cat! Dattebayo!"

He ran to meet up with the real Sasuke who was pacing in front of Kakashi. He had a look of pure disgust on his face, and when his eyes met Naruto's, he scowled with hatred.

"Uh, what's the matter, Sasuke? Something wrong?" He slowed to a stop in front of him. Sasuke circled him, shoving his hands in his pockets, as Kakashi flipped pages.

"I... let it get away."  
"Wha--?"  
"The kitten. I Iet it get away! It was standing right in front of me, and I let it get away! Damn it! How could I have been so stupid!" He kicked one of the trees in front of him, and leaned against it, growling.

"Heh, maybe it was just a mistake, you know, like a mis--"  
"I can't make mistakes! If I'm ever going to kill him, and avenge my clan, I have to get better, get stronger. I can't afford mistakes! Not at a time like this... not for what I have to do..." Sasuke quickly stalked away, leaving a confused Naruto standing in front of Kakashi.

"'Him?' who's 'him?' Kakashi sensei, what happened? Fill me in would ya?"  
"It appears Sasuke let an excellent opportunity get away from him. Just after you two split up, the kitten took advantage of the situation, and fooled Sasuke by pretending to be you."  
"Me? But tha--"  
"The fake Naruto told Sasuke he had found the kitten, but Sasuke, who knew it wasn't the real you, let him get away, rather than make the capture. I'm not sure what happened, or why Sasuke let him go, but Sasuke is taking it very hard... don't you think?" Kakashi quickly returned to his novel, flipping another page. Naruto looked up into the clouds. Just what caused Sasuke to let his guard down?


End file.
